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Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 pupils and educators in one of the biggest group abductions in modern Nigerian experience, according to a Christian organization on Saturday.

Growing Crisis in School Facilities

The Friday morning assault on St Mary's mixed-gender school in western Nigeria happened just days after armed men attacked a secondary school in adjacent Kebbi state, seizing 25 female students.

Earlier accounts had stated 227 individuals were taken, but updated figures surfaced after a thorough counting process confirmed that 303 pupils and 12 educators had been kidnapped.

The taken children, ranging between eight and 18 years, represent nearly 50 percent of the school's total student population of 629.

Official Response and Security Measures

State authorities have announced that intelligence departments and police are presently conducting a comprehensive census to establish the exact number of abducted people.

In reaction to the growing security fears, the local authorities has ordered the closure of all schools in the region, with nearby states following comparable preventive actions.

Furthermore, the national education department has directed the temporary closure of 47 boarding secondary schools throughout the country.

President Bola Tinubu has called off international engagements, including attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, to concentrate on handling the situation.

Recent Violent Events

The school kidnappings constitute the latest in a series of safety breaches that have shaken the nation, including an assault on a church in western Nigeria where assailants killed two individuals and abducted numerous congregation members during a live-streamed service.

These incidents have taken place against the background of global focus on Nigeria's safety situation.

Past Context

Nigeria remains traumatized by the memory of the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in Chibok more than a decade ago, with some of those girls still missing.

Firsthand Accounts

In a concerning recording shared by religious organizations, a frightened worker recounted hearing the sounds of bikes and cars before experiencing "forceful banging" on various entrances of the school premises.

"Students were weeping," the witness said, recounting her panic while searching for keys to the section where the crying was loudest.

The local Catholic diocese stated that the "assailants operated violently and uninterrupted for nearly three hours, searching sleeping quarters."

Citizen Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, about 600km away on the periphery of Abuja, concerned guardians were collecting their students from schools following the shutdown order.

One mother, a 40-year-old nurse, voiced her shock at the scale of the abduction, questioning how 300 students could be abducted simultaneously.

She stated that the "government is not doing enough to combat insecurity," and voiced approval for international intervention to "salvage this crisis."

Ongoing Security Challenges

For years, heavily armed bandit groups have been conducting killings and kidnappings for money in remote areas of northern and central Nigeria, where state presence is limited.

While no group has taken credit for the latest incidents, criminal groups seeking ransom payments frequently attack schools in countryside locations where security is weak.

These groups maintain bases in vast woodland areas spanning multiple states in western Nigeria.

While these criminals have no ideological leanings and are primarily motivated by monetary profit, their growing cooperation with jihadist groups from the northeastern region has become a major cause of worry for officials and security analysts alike.